Fall of a Prince
by Chibichan4
Summary: A fic that takes place after DBGT. Vejeta comes down with a disease and is forced to face his inner demons as his time runs out. V/B, maybe some G/B. PG for violence in later chapters. R/R, no flames please!
1. Sickness

A/N: I kinda changed things around a little bit. 'Course, this is my fic so I can do whatever I want, but ANYWAY... ^_~ I changed the age difference between Trunks and Bra (therefore making Goten and Pan closer in age, but there's no T/P or G/B in this... at least no T/P. Maybe some G/B. You'll have to see...)  
  
Trunks – 16  
  
Bra – 13  
  
Pan – 10  
  
Goten – 15  
  
All the adults are in their 40's-50's  
  
Oh, and since Bra's birth places her somewhere in the Buu Saga, just imagine that she was in the background running around with Marron (who won't be in the fic on account of she's in "college" in another country... *coughcoughIdontlikeMarroncoughcough*. ^_^  
  
I just wanted to add one last thing, this fic is heavily influenced by the fic "Live" by ~*Universe*~: http://www.100megsfree3.com/leilia/fanfics/dbzdrama.html  
  
It's an awesome fic about Piccolo coming down with a fatal disease. Very well-written, but beware, it's definitely a tear-jerker.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Fall of a Prince  
  
By Chibichan  
  
Chapter 1: "Sickness"  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, no matter how much I may wish I was Akira Toriyama. Sue me and all you'll get is a paper-clip and a piece of string. I do, however, own the story!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Vejeta scowled at his teenage son, who looked away from him. Ever since they had begun their sparring session, he could tell that Trunks was holding back. An idea sprung into his head and he scowled even more.  
  
"Brat, you're not letting girls get to you again, are you?"  
  
"What?!" Trunks looked up, blushing. He slowly shook his head and decided he might as well be honest, "No... Actually, that's not it..."  
  
Vejeta raised an eyebrow, quickly losing his patience, "Stop worrying about whatever it is and stop holding back!"  
  
Trunks winced at the extra emphasis on the last statement, but he chose to ask his father quickly before the opportunity was gone, "'Tou-san, are you sick...?"  
  
"What?!" Now it was Vejeta's turn to look shocked. He stared at his son like he was insane.  
  
"Well... you've been pretty tired lately and... you've been holding back during training, purposely or not."  
  
Vejeta had an educated suspicion as to what was wrong with him, but he continued to be stubborn and hide it as long as possible, "I haven't been getting good sleep lately. Now do you want to train or end up like Kakarott's brat?"  
  
Trunks scowled at his father. Goten trained less than Trunks, but he still trained. Trunks calmed down almost immediately, remembering that his father just had a thing about Goku's family.  
  
"Train... if you promise to give me your all."  
  
"If you'll do the same."  
  
They nodded and flew at each other, beginning another round of sparring.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Bra was walking down the hall and happened to glance out a window where she saw Trunks standing on the balcony off of his room, leaning against the railing. She glanced at her watch and was amazed to see that he had been let out of training three hours early.  
  
Being Bulma and Vejeta's daughter, she narrowed her eyes and went to his room to bug him about being a wussy and asking for the day off. Of course, she knew he was at LEAST twice as powerful as she was, but she liked to bug him anyway.  
  
She opened his door and walked up to the sliding glass doors, opening them, "Nii-san...?"  
  
Trunks half-glanced back over his shoulder and gave her a small grunt, "...Imouto..."  
  
"Nii-san, what's wrong? You're three hours early."  
  
"Yah, I know... 'Tou-san... walked off saying that 'Kaa-san had threatened him into doing some chores around the house."  
  
"So...?" Bra raised an eyebrow in suspicion – it wasn't that rare for Bulma to threaten Vejeta with a month on the couch to get him to do stuff.  
  
"Bura-chan... he lied." Trunks stood up and turned around and Bra stared at him in shock.  
  
"Otou-san... lied? Trunks, did you hit your head or something? Otou-san never lies."  
  
"That's what's bothering me. I could sense his exhaustion and that's probably the only excuse he could come up with besides being overly tired."  
  
"Trunks, this is ba—"  
  
They both froze when they felt a sharp plummet in their father's ki. They bolted out of the room and to the master bedroom, where they had felt him. Trunks opened the door and both of them froze when they saw Vejeta unconscious on the floor.  
  
Bra took several steps back in horror and shouted in a voice almost as shrill as her mother, "OKAA-SAAN!!"  
  
Trunks winced as his ears rang for several minutes after Bra's ear-piercing scream. Bulma came running down the hall, rubbing her ears. The scream had apparently even hurt her ears, and at half the way across the huge building. She ran up next to Bra and put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Bra Briefs, what is the reason for that scream?!"  
  
Bra pointed a shaking finger to their room and Bulma turned around, also having a look of shock on her face. Trunks was on his knees picking up his father. Bulma ordered the purple-haired teenager to take Vejeta to the infirmary, and then ran ahead with Bra.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Bulma, Bra, and Trunks were sitting in the infirmary with Vejeta lying on a bed in the middle of the room. Bra was sitting on a chair next to Vejeta's bed, boredly flipping through a magazine, Trunks was leaning against the wall with his arms folded, and Bulma was going over the information from Vejeta's scans.  
  
Simultaneously, Bra and Trunks' stomachs began growling and they looked up at each other. Bulma sighed and turned around in her chair to face them.  
  
"You guys can go get some food... This might be a while."  
  
"Okay, 'Kaa-san... We'll be in the kitchen, let us know if you find anything."  
  
"Don't worry, Trunks."  
  
They both glanced sadly at their father and left the room. Bulma continued staring at the information for at least another hour, trying desperately to make sense of it. Finally, she slumped her shoulders and rubbed her eyes wearily.  
  
"I've gotta take a break..."  
  
She turned around in her chair and let out a cry when she saw Vejeta had disappeared. She immediately stood up and slammed her hand on a button on the wall which activated the intercom.  
  
"Trunks! Bra! Your father's missing, find him and bring him back."  
  
"On it, Okaa-san!" Bra answered quickly, failing miserably at keeping the fear out of her voice. Bulma stood there for a moment and then decided that there was nothing else she could do until they found him and brought him back, so she went back to her analyzing.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Bra turned to Trunks, who gulped and nodded. They both closed their eyes and extended their senses, searching for their father's ki. It was difficult to find, since it wasn't at its usual level, but they quickly found it.  
  
The aqua-haired girl opened her eyes and gave Trunks a confused look, "Why's he in the middle of the forest?"  
  
"Maybe he's disoriented..."  
  
"Maybe..." Bra's voice was full of doubt, but they shook it off and blasted out the door towards their father.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Vejeta closed his eyes and folded his arms as he felt his children flying towards him. From the speed at which they were flying, he knew they were worried about him. He "hmph'ed" and began meditating, waiting for them to arrive.  
  
Just as he predicted, they were there within seconds. Bra took a step towards him and called to him, her voice shaky.  
  
"Otou-san...?"  
  
"'Tou-san, we have to take you back."  
  
Vejeta sighed deeply and decided he might as well get it over with, "There's no point in me going back."  
  
"'Tou-san, you're delusional. Come back, and we can fix you..."  
  
"Fix me?!" His eyes shot open and both of his children jumped back in shock, "I'm not delusional!"  
  
Bra couldn't take it anymore and shouted at him, "Come back so 'Kaa-san can find out what's wrong with you!"  
  
When Vejeta saw the tears in her eyes, his voice softened and he closed his eyes again, tensing, "I know exactly what's wrong with me..."  
  
Both of their faces registered shock and confusion as Vejeta sighed, preparing to tell them the grim truth.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Bulma sat back in her chair in absolute shock and horror. She had decided to pour over the Saiya-jin archives that had been recovered from Vejeta's first spacepod, and had discovered what she was looking for. She shook her head slowly in an attempt to wake herself from this nightmare, but it didn't work and instead tears sprung into her eyes.  
  
"Oh, Kami, no..."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Heh, sorry for the long chapter. So, as I said in my profile, if you guys like this, then send me a review. If I get a lot of reviews, then I'll continue the story, but if not, I'll just scrap it. 


	2. Bad News

A/N: I can't believe I forgot to put this in the first chapter! This fic's influenced heavily by "Live" written by ~*Universe*~. Excellent fic about what happens when Piccolo comes down with a fatal disease. Just be warned, you'll DEFINITELY want some tissues on hand, but it's very well-written. Oh, and thank you for all the reviews (Especially to Caith ^_~)! I hope you enjoy!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Falling of a Prince  
  
By Chibichan  
  
Chapter 2: "Bad News"  
  
Disclaimer: Why do I even bother putting it in every chapter? We all know it's not mine, because if it was, I'd be making this story part of the show instead of posting it on FF.net... *Ahem* Insert standard disclaimer.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Vejeta closed his eyes and sighed again, motioning for his children to sit down as well, "I've known what's wrong with me for several weeks."  
  
"Why didn't you say anything?!"  
  
"...You'll know why after you know what it is..." both of the teenagers nodded and he decided to continue, "There... really isn't a proper English translation, but in Saiya-go it's Gach Kaortous... Roughly translated... Brain Sickness."  
  
"Brain...sick..." Bra choked up and couldn't finish the question. Trunks looked sadly at his sister and then at his father while trying to fight back his own tears.  
  
"Yes... Even on Vejeta-sei we weren't sure what caused it, just that it... was fatal in every single case."  
  
"Fatal?!" Bra cried out as the tears began streaming down her face. Vejeta didn't want to see her crying over him, so he quickly continued.  
  
"How much time the victim has left depends on how much training he does. It can be anywhere from several weeks to seven months."  
  
"Training? If you have a disease, why does TRAINING help it?"  
  
"I'm a Saiya-jin with fighting in my blood... I don't know all the details about it, but training helps to build up more than just my muscles and ki. It helps keep my health in good condition... That's why those who don't train have worse health and therefore they die quicker. If I spend even more time training, then I can prolong it for months. Of course, if I trained every minute of every day, I might be able to prolong it for a year, maybe two. But it WILL catch up to me."  
  
"Otou-san... you can't..." Bra shook her head wildly and stood up. She sobbed quietly for several minutes before she flung herself at her father, wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.  
  
He normally would've pushed her away, but he decided against it. Trunks stood up and leaned against a tree, folding his arms and looking away.  
  
Vejeta looked up at his son and frowned. He had noticed Trunks' rise in ki and how his breathing had deepened, and knew that the young boy was fighting back tears. His frown slowly turned into a smirk as something dawned on him.  
  
-The brat's more Saiya-jin than I thought... He definitely got more of it than Bra...-  
  
When Bra had collapsed into Vejeta's lap, exhausted, he took her into his arms and stood up. He took a few steps forward and looked at Trunks, who was staring at him.  
  
Their gazes locked and Trunks couldn't take it, finally braking down and allowing several tears to fall down his face. Silently, they both lifted into the air and flew back to Capsule Corporation.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Trunks stepped into the lab where he saw Bulma leaning over the keyboard, sobbing. He knew she had figured it out while they were gone, so he cleared his throat to alert her to his presence.  
  
She spun around and looked at him with a defeated look on her face. He winced and took several more steps into the room. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  
  
"Trunks, I've fou—"  
  
"He told us."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"...He's putting Bra in her room right now."  
  
"He knew...? And he didn't say anything?!"  
  
"'Kaa-san..."  
  
Bulma knew the question to her answer, but she was in a state of shock, so her mind wasn't working properly. Finally, she calmed down and turned around, closing her eyes.  
  
-He knew he'd have to say good-bye...-  
  
Trunks turned to the hallway leading into the infirmary where he saw his father walking towards them with his arms folded. Vejeta raised an eyebrow as Trunks quickly turned around and stared at the floor.  
  
"Onna."  
  
Bulma clenched her fists and was overcome by a wave of rage. She spun around, glaring at Vejeta. He stared at her, slightly surprised by her reaction.  
  
"Vejeta!! You... BAKA!"  
  
Vejeta narrowed his eyes as he watched her fume, obviously waiting for him to answer. When he remained silent, she scowled.  
  
"Why didn't you tell us you were sick?!"  
  
"Because I hadn't decided to tell you."  
  
"WHAT?! You...You..." Normally, she would've unleashed a barrage of verbal attacks, but this time she couldn't bring herself to do it. She shook her head with tears falling down her face. Then, just as Bra had done, she flung herself at him and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing.  
  
Vejeta almost rolled his eyes at how many people were crying over him. Trunks ran a hand through his hair and went to the kitchen, wanting time alone to think.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Well, there ya go. More evidence of my obsession with Saiya-go. ^_^* Oh, hey, I couldn't come up with a good title for this one, so I just put down the first thing that came to mind. If you can come up with a better one, lemme know in a review (no sarcasm intended)! 


End file.
